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RESOLUTION No. 05/2003/NQ-CP of April 4, 2003 on the Government’s March 2003 regular meeting

On March 31 and April 1, 2003, the Government held its March regular meeting, discussing and resolving the following issues:

- It discussed the strategy on reforming tax system from now till 2010, presented by the Ministry of Finance.

Through two steps of reforming tax policies from 1990 to 2000, an uniform tax policy system, covering almost all revenue sources, applicable to all economic sectors and step by step suitable to the requirements of restructuring the economy along the socialist-oriented market economy, has taken shape. The current tax policy system is capable of mobilizing a part of national incomes, meeting the spending demands of the State budget and becoming an important tool for marco-level regulation by the State. This tax policy system has contributed to boosting production and business development, encouraging investment and exports, economic restructuring, protecting domestic production and creating an environment for fair competition under the market mechanism. However, there exist some problems in the current tax policy system as it fails to cover all taxable objects and tax payers. The work of tax management lacks sensitiveness, thus failing to promptly grasp the situation in order to set forth suitable policies. Relaxed order and disciplines in taxation field, tax evasion and fraudulence as well as negative acts in tax management remain common.

It assigned the Ministry of Finance to assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the concerned agencies in gathering comments from cabinet members and finalizing the strategy on tax reform.

- It considered a draft decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Bidding Regulation, presented by the Minister of Planning and Investment. Some provisions of the current Bidding Regulation are no longer suitable, the procedures for bidding organization are complicated and prolonged, the responsibility for bidding organization and the State management over bidding are not yet clearly defined, thus making the bidding of some projects and works become formalistic, inefficient and prone to negative acts. These existing problems must be urgently redressed in order to raise the bidding quality and the effectiveness of the State management thereof.

- It discussed and considered controversial issues in the contents of the bill on State Enterprises (amended), the land bill (amended), the bill on organization of the People’s Councils and People’s Committees (amended), the bill on election of deputies to the People’s Councils (amended) and the bill on emulation and commendation.

- It considered a report of the President of Hanoi People’s Committee on some urgent issues related to the work of urban construction and development.

- It also heard some reports, including a report on some issues related to the Iraqi war and impacts thereof on the Vietnamese economy, presented by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan; a report on socio-economic situation in March and the first quarter of 2003, presented by the Minister of Planning and Investment; and a report on export situation and measures to stabilize and promote export, presented by the Minister of Trade.- (Summary)